This paper presents a bibliometric analysis of the Theory of Constraints (TOC) research i.e. a total of 1009 journal articles published since 1984. From a bibliometric point of view, the state of the art was mapped and research gaps in the scientific literature identified, creating opportunities for future research. The Production area leads in number of publications, and applications in the Process of Ongoing Improvement in general have been receiving less attention from academics. It is also worth noting that the International Journal of Production Research has the highest concentration of published works on TOC. The results show that TOC is in continuous development with a trend of growth and therefore demands additional inquiry. The main contributions of this work are: (a) presenting a comprehensive historical review and bibliometric analysis on TOC in a manner not yet illustrated in the literature; (b) addressing potential implications and directions for the IJPR community on TOC research; and (c) offering avenues for future research on how to advance the extant literature of TOC.

Outsourcing logistics has established itself in the area of the LSP (Logistics Service Provider), which offers a range of services to its customers. In this line, transportation is characterized as one of the most important services, and therefore efficient fleet management is essential for establishing a high level of customer service. With advances in technology and vehicle tracking systems, this approach of management has gained new possibilities for the improvement of logistics services. By studying the specific case of an LSP, this paper investigates the use of these technologies in the management of their business and services. The results indicate that the LSP seeks to increase its services and to streamline information in order to respond to customer needs in real time. It is also evident in this case under study that the combination of the technology available together with the fleet management system has become a distinguishing feature for this LSP, one which increases their skills and important information for both customers and business.

This paper identifies, through a literature review, how 53 circular economy (CE) practices are related to the capability approach (CA) proposed by Sen. The main goal was to identify how a virtuous cycle between CE and CA can be developed. Five instrumental freedoms (IF) were analysed: economic facilities, social opportunities, protective security, political freedoms, and transparency guarantees. These relationships were analysed in three flows: CE practices positively impacting IF, CE practices negatively impacting IF, and the feedback influence of IF on CE practices. The results show that 32 of the 53 practices previously mentioned have not yet been studied from the CA context, which indicates that there are several research opportunities. From the practices considered, 72 articles were analysed in the final sample. The results suggest that several CE practices are aligned with the CA, considering that all five IF were identified as positive outcomes of CE practices. However, in some contexts, certain practices can have negative outcomes, which indicates that CE, at least in some cases, may not be considered as sustainable, as it decreases IF and, therefore, the social aspect of sustainability. The results also highlight that there is a feedback from IF to CE, in such a way that investing in the expansion of IF can facilitate the development of CE practices. Therefore, this study concludes that CE is indeed a way to fully operationalize sustainable development.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze the state of the art in Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM), outlining the CCPM literature to date, in an effort to guide future studies.Design/methodology/approach: The paper is based on a bibliometric analysis using Scopus and Web of Science databases. The authors identified the principal journals, articles and authors regarding the research theme, as well as the authors elaborated co-citation and co-occurrence network maps to support the analysis.Findings: The authors described five co-citation clusters: Fundamentals of Critical Chain, Scheduling, Operations Research, Multi-project and Network, and General Project Management. The most frequently occurring keywords were: “project management,” “critical chain,” “scheduling” and “theory of constraints.” Observing the distribution, the expression “project management” occupied a central position, connecting two other clusters, represented by the keywords “scheduling” and “critical chain.” The authors proposed an evolutive framework for the CCPM state of the art in three stages, according to the most frequent topics identified: Conceptual, Deepening of Applications and Methodological Maturity.Originality/value: This research adopts a systematic approach based on bibliometric tools, which allows a more rigorous organization of the literature. Co-citation and keyword co-occurrence maps provide evidence of how the main themes in CCPM relate. Besides, the presented historical framework allows new research in CCPM to be directed to the most recent topics of interest that have gaps to be explored.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to systematically describe the key practical contributions of the theory of constraints (TOC) to outbound (distribution) logistics.Design/methodology/approach: Based on theoretical research, this paper presents the main practical aspects of the approach suggested by TOC to outbound logistics and discusses the assumptions upon which it is based.Findings: This paper corroborates the thesis defended by TOC, according to which the current ways of managing outbound logistics, based mainly on sales forecasts lead to difficulties in handling trade‐offs between logistics (stock and transportation) costs and stock‐out levels.Research limitations/implications: The reported research is of a theoretical nature.Practical implications: TOC offers a proposal that is complementary in many aspects and very distinguishable in others about the way some key processes and elements of supply chain management (SCM) are managed, especially outbound logistics.Originality/value: Considering the dearth of papers dealing with the conceptual articulation and organization of this subject, the paper contributes to systematize the knowledge currently available about the contributions of the TOC to outbound logistics, highlighting the practical implications of applying TOC to outbound logistics.